Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a smart luggage system comprising a smart luggage assembly and a smart luggage mobile interface. A smart luggage assembly in accordance with the present invention includes a case assembly comprising a smart handle assembly which allows a user to monitor location, control and monitor access, and/or charge one or more electronic devices, among other things. A smart luggage mobile interface in accordance with the present invention allows a user to access and/or control one or more features of a smart luggage assembly in accordance with the present invention via a mobile electronic device.
Description of the Related Art
Travelers today are faced with increasing challenges with regard to the transport of their personal items. Luggage restrictions and baggage fees have forced many travelers to elect to leave certain conveniences behind, so as to save fare, or in some cases, due to absolute limitations on the amount of personal belongings they may bring with them at all. Other times, a piece of luggage is found to be over the permissible weight limit only when the person is checking a bag just prior to travelling, and persons are oftentimes left with no choice but to discard some personal items simply to meet absolute weight restrictions and/or to avoid additional or overweight baggage fees.
Regardless of a person's care in packing to assure their luggage complies with all weight and size limitations, it is beyond travelers control to assure that an airline does not send their luggage to a destination that is different from the destination of the travelers themselves. This results in way too many anxious moments waiting on luggage to appear at the baggage carousels around the world.
Additionally, most people have at least one, if not several mobile electronic devices which they have with them while travelling. Most people today have a smartphone, and many have a tablet or laptop computer, and perhaps a portable music or movie player. The convenience of having these devices is so prevalent, that travelers simply are not going to leave these devices behind, Of course, this convenience is sometimes offset by the need to frequently recharge these portably electronic devices, which may require a user to remain pinned down in one location while his or her smartphone or tablet recharges at a wall out outlet or charging station.
Of course, thieves are also fond of portable electronic devices, and a disturbing recent trend has been for thieves to walk around through crowded places, such as airports, trains stations, bus terminals, etc., and with a pocketsize RFID scanner, surreptitiously obtain sensitive information from the various RFID microchip which are embedded in our credit cards, debit cards, smartphones, etc.
As such, it would be beneficial to provide an improved luggage system which allows a user to quickly and easily check compliance with baggage weight restrictions. It would further be helpful for such an improved luggage system to incorporate means for user to verify the location of a piece of luggage from a mobile device virtually anywhere in the world. A further advantage may be realized by providing a luggage assembly having a built in power supply to allow a user to recharge his or her personal electronic devices wherever they are. It would also be beneficial to provide an improved luggage system which includes one or more pocket constructed of an RFID resistant material to prevent sensitive personal information from being accessed by would be thieves.